From 1946-48, the U.S. Public Health Service and the Pan American Sanitary Bureau worked with several Guatemalan government agencies to do medical research — paid for by the U.S. government — that involved deliberately exposing people to sexually transmitted diseases.

The researchers apparently were trying to see if penicillin, then relatively new, could prevent infections in the 1,300 people exposed to syphilis, gonorrhea or chancroid. Those infected included soldiers, prostitutes, prisoners and mental patients with syphilis.

The commission revealed Monday that only about 700 of those infected received some sort of treatment. Also, 83 people died, although it's not clear if the deaths were directly due to the experiments.

The research came up with no useful medical information, according to some experts. It was hidden for decades but came to light last year, after a Wellesley College medical historian discovered records among the papers of Dr. John Cutler, who led the experiments.

I read about these types of experiments before. For the most part, the unfortunate souls who were used as guinea pigs in these experiments did not know they had been infected with these diseases. It's unethical and disgusting.

That's right, they didn't know. Dr. Cutler apparently did some other tests with infecting inmates here in the states with STDs, but they signed a consent form and knew what they were getting into. The poor people in these tests had no idea. Just awful!

You might also want to look into some of the medical "experiments" that were conducted on the "Tuskeegee airmen" during WW II. This was while they were in training in Alabama. It was considered ethical becasue they were "Blacks" and in the military, so they had already given their consent, even if indirectly.